CNS.. your article from May 16 (http://cnsbusiness.com/content/new-flights-boost-business) gives the end dates of the seasonal service so an airline abiding by its published schedules and intentions shouldn't be a surprise.
 

Bermuda never had a National Airline. Just remind me why we need one. Moreover if Jamaica cannot make a go of it with or without Butch Steward, then who can.

I think one of the main problem why the flight to Panama didnt do that well is the kanugauge barrier in Panama...most placesu go if not all the places all the ppl speak is spanish, there is hardly any english speaking peron there, so how can u shop in a country when u can hardly even ask for what u want...the othe isssue i suppose is that most ppl are afraid of ben set up and robbed bt hte Panamaian....too much horrible stories of tourist been robbed over there man!!

If Cayman Airways doesn't want to fly there using their planes, then they should seek a code-share agreement with COPA and let them run the traffic here on their planes and Cayman Airways collect a slice of pie.    

You can see part of the problem in the wording of Mr Scott's statement.
"As the Cayman Islands has very little brand awareness in the Panamanian market, it is important that the rich sounds, colours and excitement are incorporated into marketing and promotional activities such as this, to help paint a vibrant image on a previously blank canvass and give a sweet taste of what we in the Cayman Islands have to offer."
Sounds more like, "We are looking for a good excuse to fly all our friends away on an all-expenses paid trip somewhere but we have no idea what relevance that has to bringing more tourists to Cayman."
DoT, stop playing games and get into the real world. Start talking to the European package holiday companies because that's where the real money is. This is just the latest in a series of dead ends and every time they seem to get just a little bit more expensive. It's also long overdue for both DoT and CAL to be subjected to a thorough 'value for money' audit.
 

well at least swanky got to see panama! even if they they didnt fly the direct flight. haha what a damn joke.

I'd rather fly to Panama for the weekend than go to Miami.  Lots to do.

I am from Central America and although I was excited about the new route via Panama I knew it was just a matter of time for Cayman Airways to call it off. 
Do you know what the NEW procedures to apply for a visitors visa for citizens of Central American Countries (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala) is?
Need to download a form from a website, send the application along with your passport to the UK embassy in Colombia! Pay for both the DHL/FEDEX there and back plus the $85 dollars per person to get the visa... Now, this doesn't warranty that you will be given the visa- according to the website it could take up to 2 months to process!!!!
Now, why would anybody go through that whole deal to get a visa, you might as well go visit ALL THE MANY other destinations around the world, right?
So, of course ALL those CAL flights are empty... 
My question is, on a place as small these islands, we should be requesting so many visas if the Immigration department is doing its job, people could come and visit for two weeks, make sure everybody that enters has a return tickets to their country and if after two week you fail to show up to your flight, the police goes looking for you, right????
This is a very sad subject for me, because being away from my family I know from now on with this whole visa deal I won't ever get any more visitor here :(

It seemed to me at the time of its inauguration that this wasn't going to pan out.  I mean, how many people want to go to Panama?  I don't, and I'll bet you don't either.  Lotta money spent.  Did that make any difference? No, unless you consider our current deficit.
When asked about the stoppage after three months, an official from CAL told CNS Business this was always the plan.  Really?  I don't believe it.
It was stated that on the launch flight that there were 38 delegates. The 38 delegates included guests of the premier, the Chamber of Commerce and CITA representatives, as well as private sector tourism stakeholders and the Swanky Kitchen Band among others.  Just more hogs at the CIG trough!
The inaugural flight was heralded as an important step in the development of a trade route between Cayman and Panama.  What kind of trade?  Are we talking drugs?  It was said that the party was thrown to promote the Cayman brand.  What is the Cayman brand?  What are we selling that Panama wants?
 

Are the Honduras flights normally full?  If not why not add Panama as another leg at the same time as these flights?  BA seems to be sucessful with their UK - Cayman - Bahamas flights!

Three months is clearly not enough time to see if a route will work, how can one plan a vacation if they have to get approval for time off of work etc.! I was planning a trip on later this year, even though they promoted it as seasonal I was hopeing that they realized that they should continue the service to evaluate more. But I guess not, I guess I will have to use my vacation time to go somewhere else now! And plus December is the best time for that trip! The Costaricans, Dominicans, Nicagraguans and many more nationalities would use that route to either go home for Christmas/New Years or bring family members here to visit because it is a much easier connection point!

I think the Panama route is a great idea for Cayman. Panama is a big hub and to be able to connect through it to Cayman means traffic to and from all of South America. I've already had 4 or 5  visits from potential new clients from Panama, it clearly could be a source of new business for Cayman.
As usual this government would prefer pouring money down the toilet with things like the Turtle Farm, solar panels and the nation building fund intead of making good investments like supporting the Panama flight until it becomes more popular.
Disappointed.

Why not tell the truth:
 
Very little research was done on the viability of this route before launch
Very little promotion was done before launch
McKeeva, although he is trying as Minister for CAL, is failing
Little to no surveys were engaged with the public about travel to Panama
 
Panama is a great route, it just needs time to grow. Do not come out and say it was always the intention to stop in three weeks when all of the media hoop-la at the time speaks to the contrary. What are you trying to hide?

This reminds me of the first time they started the Honduras route with one months notice and expected it to succeeded right away..
They should have started promotion on this route at least six months before to allow people to plan and book trips. Promoting it in May and only running it for the summer in the slow season, when most people are off island on preplanned vacations and visiting families overseas was wrong. In this economy most people who had already booked their vacation could not really afford to take one in Panama as well but if it was promoted early enough many people may have used it as their primary summer vacation.
 
$71k is a small amount of money to spend on  promoting a route but in this case it was probably too much to promote flights in the slow season and for three months only...
Take a page out of Jet Blues books ...They announced and were promoting their upcoming service more than six months before and in fact when they couldn't get the regulatory approvals they pushed back their start dates indefinately. Simply put they need to seel and fill seats before the route can start.
You can't just say you are going to fly today and expect to fill every seat tomorrow and for three months only ..
 
Lastly the flight were at odd times and not on any peak travel days...it was like it was almost just thrown on the schedule without proper planning..If you cannot run a market driven schedule you will continue to fail. My advice to Cayman Airways would be is to lease one more aircraft so that you can produce a market driven schedule to all if not most of your destinations.. People are creatures of habit..Look how well Cayman AIrways does with Miami...it's simple they fly at the right times and they make coonections and they do it enough days of the week so that you at least have a flight coming back when you want...No one wants to fly nonstop to panama and then have to take the long an very expensive route over Miami just to get back home.... Flights like this neeed to operate at least 3 -5 days a week and at peak times ... no sense flying when nobody wants to travel or can travel....The extra aircraft will pay off because you will fill more seats, you will get more revenue and the cost off additional aircraft will be inconsequential.
 
Try some proper planning next time so the money isn't wasted.